Ocala buzzes over fan dancer Sally Rand

Saturday

Aug 9, 2014 at 11:49 PM

Ocala was all a-twitter in early 1936 when theater advertisements heralded a performance by the world-famous fan dancer, Sally Rand, and her troupe on the stage of the Ritz Theater on Silver Springs Boulevard.

By David CookColumnist

Ocala was all a-twitter in early 1936 when theater advertisements heralded a performance by the world-famous fan dancer, Sally Rand, and her troupe on the stage of the Ritz Theater on Silver Springs Boulevard.The good church ladies were shocked and enraged. Some noted that Sally's act, which gained national notoriety at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition, was banned in some straight-laced locations. She took off her clothing in public, didn't she?Well, she covered herself with fans — mostly. But, in Ocala, her dancing figure would be obscured by “bubbles,” too. It was said by Ted Chapin, publicity manager for Sparks Theaters, that Sally was trying out a new act as she toured the company's network of movie houses around the state. She had appeared in many movies in the 1920s and early '30s.Ocala protestors were not placated by explanations that her performances at Miami nightclubs had barely caused comment. The locals knew Miami was “a den of iniquity.” I can't tell you how many times I heard that phrase when I was growing up in Ocala.Chapin's announcement that Sally would go swimming at Silver Springs was just about the last straw. Shorty Davidson, co-operator of the attraction, immediately declared, for publication, that the swimming beach would be closed to the public if Sally went swimming in the springs.

Of course, some local men wanted to know what Sally would wear for a swimsuit, and that was a headline in the bemused Ocala Morning Banner. Sally wired the Banner that her purpose in appearing at Silver Springs was to pose for a series of underwater photos.Those protesting Sally brought Sheriff S.C.M. Thomas into the controversy. The sheriff said he would not stand for “any jaybirding.” Sally would have to wear a proper swimsuit. “She had better watch her step,” Thomas said.It was learned that a movie cameraman, Jimmy Sullivan, was in town to film an underwater segment of Sally at Silver Springs and, regardless of what Shorty Davidson said to placate outraged church ladies, the whole publicity stunt had been pre-arranged with the springs' management.Silver Springs photographer Hugh Ray also was taking photos of Sally to be used in the attraction's publicity.

The performances at the Ritz Theater, which was located on the site of today's Parramore Music, drew sellout crowds and brought forth no further condemnation. The Sally Rand show featured a large group of young women who had appeared in numerous Broadway shows and reviews.My mother wouldn't let me go near the theater while Sally's group was in town, not that I was old enough to want to go. I remember much of the outrage being expressed locally before the show. I recall one man telling my mother later, “She didn't show a thing!”Another celebrity in town about the same time was the noted novelist Sinclair Lewis. He stopped off at the Marion Hotel and met with members of the local press. He had delivered an address at Rollins College and was motoring back to New York.

The reporters didn't ask him about Sally Rand but did quiz him about President Roosevelt's re-election bid. The carrot-topped, acid-tongued commentator on American life predicted Roosevelt would win re-election by a small margin. His opinion, he said, actually was based on his wife's observations after a nationwide lecture tour. His wife was Dorothy Thompson, another noted writer, but not a popular novelist like Lewis. Lewis scoffed at the charge by Republicans that Roosevelt had become a dictator.The closest America ever came to a dictatorship was when Abraham Lincoln was president, he declared. The conversation may have stirred Lewis' creative juices because he later would write a novel about a dictatorship in the United States.When asked about the Florida Ship Canal, then under construction largely south of Ocala, Lewis said he thought it would be beneficial to commerce and should be completed. He noted that construction was putting an awful lot of men to work.He said he thought the canal would mean much to the safety of navigation in Gulf and South Atlantic waters.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, two members of the Ma Barker gang, who missed the shootout at Ocklawaha but were subsequently captured by the FBI, were convicted in federal court for the kidnapping of Edward Bremer, a case in which the Barkers were involved. They were William Weaver and Harry Sawyer.It was believed by FBI agents that Weaver and Sawyer visited the Barker hideout in Ocklawaha on a number of occasions. The pair received life sentences in prison for their roles in the kidnapping case.Arthur (Doc) Barker previously was convicted in the same kidnapping case. Only two other participants in the kidnapping were still at large. They were Alvin Karpis and his lieutenant, Harry Campbell. The gang involved in this case and numerous other criminal activity often was referred to as the Barker-Karpis gang.The Bremer kidnapping took place in January 1934 after he dropped his daughter off at her school. He was held captive for 22 days, finally released after a ransom of $200,000 was paid. It has never been clear just what role Ma Barker played in the kidnapping.An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.